Of Coffee and Mispronounced Names
by kerapal bubbles
Summary: They first met at a Starbucks, and he said her name wrong. AU Zerith


**Summary: **They met outside a Starbucks, and he said her name wrong. AU Zerith (obviously. I don't think they have Starbucks in Midgar.)

**Disclaimer:** No. Just…no. Oh, and I don't own Starbucks either. Yeahhh.

**Notes: **I dedicate this to my peeps at Starbucks who KNOW me and know how to spell my name right cause I go there too often, and KNOW which drink I get and who it's for, even when the new guy spells my name wrong. Oh, and to coffee, the lifeblood of all college students.

-000-

They first met outside a Starbucks. Well, maybe _met_ wasn't the right word. Cloud and Zack were outside their university's Starbucks, when he spotted her sitting at a lone table amidst the crowd. Long brown hair tied back in a ponytail, green eyes framed by black-rimmed reading glasses. Cloud elbowed him in the ribs.

"You should go talk to her."

Zack snorted. "Why?"

"You're interested," Cloud replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"You're one to talk," Zack elbowed him back.

"I _have _a girlfriend," Cloud reminded him, ignoring Zack's muttering of "_I _was the one who got you guys together" and he motioned to the girl again, "but _you_ haven't been with any girl for more than a month."

"Is that a challenge?" Zack narrowed his eyes.

Cloud merely smirked as Zack fell for his bait; he had never been one to back down from a challenge.

She was sitting there reading a book, scribbling something on a piece of paper. Zack made sure he ordered his iced coffee before he tried anything. Looking around the place, he decided that it was _just _crowded enough to try and sit with her. So, coffee in hand, he calmly walked over to where she was sitting.

"Excuse me," he said politely. She looked up over the top of her book; cute black rimmed reading glasses sliding down the bridge of her nose as she took him in.

"Yes?" she answered just as politely.

"Do you mind if I sit here? It's kinda crowded today."

"Oh, sure!" she hurriedly moved some of her belongings so that Zack could take a seat.

"So what brings a nice-looking guy like you over to sit with me?" she closed her book for a minute to study him. "Your blonde friend wouldn't have anything to do with it, would he?"

Zack grinned. She was rather perceptive.

"He might have," he admitted, "but do I _really_ need an excuse to sit with a cute girl who looks kinda lonely?"

"Hmm…" she hummed, a smile playing at the corner of her lips. "I guess not. So, did you want to talk to this cute girl about anything in particular?"

"Well, for starters, I never would've pegged a cute girl like you for a med student."

She blushed slightly, and took a sip of her drink. Zack caught a glimpse of the name written on the side of the paper cup, and decided to try and be impressive.

"So, how long have you been at Midgar U, Rith?"

"Huh?" she lowered her drink, a confused look spreading across her face.

"Your name. I saw it on your Starbucks cup," he replied.

She turned her cup to examine the name, and then giggled. Zack started getting a little nervous.

"That's not quite my name."

"…oh?" he faltered a bit, his resolve beginning to waver just slightly.

She smiled and giggled again. "It's Aerith. The guy taking orders must've heard my name wrong. But don't worry about it, _Zack_," she said, taking a quick look at his own half-empty cup, "I would still like to get to know you better."

Zack flushed, but grinned nonetheless. He didn't notice Cloud in the background dialing a number on his cellphone.

"It worked," he said.

"_Hah! I told you so! When they get married, remind me to write a speech about how we set the whole thing up._"

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Teef, they just met."

"_Whatever, Cloud. They're meant for each other._"

000

**More notes: **Yeahh…I wasn't sure what pairing to use for this, but I decided on Zerith because a) I've never written them before and b) I needed a guy who could be flirty, and none of my other fandoms have really flirty guys _or _girls. So. Zerith. Because Aerith could _totally_ flirt back. I hope you guys enjoyed it! Please leave me reviews because I want to know if I wrote these guys well!


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